


Maidens and Knights? Knights and Maidens!

by bttrthanSHIELD



Series: Short Stories and Other Stuff [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: For Science!, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Knights - Freeform, for school, jk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 09:07:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16194446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bttrthanSHIELD/pseuds/bttrthanSHIELD
Summary: I literally wrote this for school. We needed to read it out loud to class. It won first place. Got a pack of gum from it.





	Maidens and Knights? Knights and Maidens!

   Many centuries ago, in a kingdom far across the great pond, there was a kingdom ruled by the wise, if somewhat traditional, king Monty of the Pythons, who loved his daughter Selena enough he would rather raze his kingdom to the ground than to see her unhappy. And he wasn't the only one who felt this way. The whole kingdom was entranced by her beauty, though her service to even the lowest in the kingdom were what sealed the deal to their undying loyalty. She was the sun that lit up their days, bringing hope and love unto every creature.

    However, on a dark and dreary day, a day where the sun refuses to shine and the clouds settle on the cold earth ground, covering all in a cloak of dreariness, the princess Selena was stolen by a knight dressed in armour that gleamed like spilt oil who refused to return her unless he were to be crowned the new king.

    The king was devastated and he sent out a proclamation declaring that any worthy knight to rescue the princess would be given her hand in marriage. Knight after knight vowed to rescue the princess, and night after night the king was left with a growing pile of broken promises and bloodied swords-the knights own swords sent back by the thief knight.

    One day, a stranger rode into town on a worn and scarred gray stallion, clad in questionably tarnished armor, and with a silence usually only found in that of the dead. No newcomers ever came into the small kingdom, so word of this strange knight's presence made its way through to the king almost immediately. The warrior rode up to the procession of the king, dismounted, and knelt before King Monty, handing him a single slip of paper bearing the knight’s family crest, and a single phrase.

    “Your name is... Alex?” the king questioned.

The stranger responded with only a solemn nod. The king continued “I assume you wish to accept the quest? To save my daughter?”

    The knight nodded again.

    The king sighed. He didn’t dare let any hope into his heart- a heart fragile from age and sorrow. All the other knights who had tried had had only the best weapons, the strongest steeds, and the shiniest armor. This young person had only the most humble of supplies. But what was the harm in letting them try?

    “Well, this isn't the strangest thing this kingdom has seen. Go. You have my blessing: if you bring her back to me, you may marry my darling Selene.” Immediately, Alex stood, mounted the weary stallion, and departed for the realm where it was teeming with creatures who have no semblance of a soul lived, where coincidentally the dark knight dwelled.

    Almost instantly, the trials began. When the duo had reached the only entrance to that realm of monstrous creatures- an abandoned bridge at the edge of a cliff, long enough that the other side was indiscernible- Alex's horse was almost immediately taken down by one of the mightiest beasts: a rock. Of course, this rock was thrown by a hideous creature who crawled out from the underside of the rickety wooden bridge. Its pale wrinkly skin sagging on its body, with beady black eyes staring unnervingly into the knight, pointed ears sagging low to the ground, thick black bristly hair on its joints, its razor shark-like teeth bared, and ginormous bony feet with craggy yellow nails poised as if to step on the fallen knight.

    “WHO DARES TO TRY TO CROSS MY BRIDGE? NO ONE CROSSES _MY_ BRIDGE!” The trolls voice was as if someone was trying to listen to a minstrel over the sound of a storm: thundering, screeching, and made your ears want to leave your body and retire.

    “WELL? ANSWER ME!”

    The now horseless knight just stayed silent, staring up at the troll defiantly. The troll, now frustrated with the knight, screamed in rage. In his fit of anger, he stomped his raised foot down, trying to squash the puny knight with it. But, alas Alex was too quick, even with armour rusted in the joints. Running towards the towering troll, the fearless knight drove a mighty sword into the troll's knobby knee. The troll stumbled backwards until it fell over the edge of the cliff, the sword still stuck in its flesh, letting out a sickening thump when it reached the unforgiving earth at the bottom.

    Encouraged by this effortless win, Alex left the fallen horse, feeling sorrow for the loss of the trusty stallion who had been with the knight since the very beginning of the journey, and carefully crossed the bridge that threatened to break with every step taken.

    After finally crossing that treacherous bridge, Alex finally made it to the realm of monsters. The realm of monsters was dark, light blocked by the leaves overhead. The whole land was covered with thick undergrowth, not a pathway to be found.

    The weary knight trudged through, ignoring the snakes slithering in the canopies, the spiders crawling up trunks, and the faint cawing of ravens unseen. Alex wished the sword was not lost to the troll, so that a pathway could be cut out of this overgrown piece of nature.

    After journeying for several hours in that chilling and somber forest, the knight, now fatigued, exits into the glaring sunlight, the heat parching the undernourished knight, sapping what little strength was left. Down the knight fell, as the scorching sun baked Alex in the armour like one would a cake in the oven.

    Doubt began to creep on the edge of Alex's thoughts, for the knight knew not where the other sinister black knight even took the princess. While Alex lay on the ground, lost to the world, a figure walked up the the suit.

    “You’ve come a long way for having so little,” a soft, yet authoritative voice pierced through the cloud of despair that had overtaken Alex. Looking up to the sky, the drained knight saw the figure wrapped in a blinding white cloak, with an ancient face peering out. Wispy gray hairs were floating around the haggard woman's head in the breezeless air.

    “Come, child, and let us experience the peace of knowledge.” Not waiting for the young knight's reply, she took Alex's arm and assisted in walking to her tipsy shack in the distance.

    The moment they arrived to the shack and opened the front door, a tiny little puppy tumbled through and started yapping at their feet.

    “Shakiah! Stop that this instant!” The old woman frowned at the dog. “This noble knight is a guest, and we do not bark at guests.”

    The dog, unfortunately, did not listen to the old woman's words, and persisted in her own mixture of yapping and snarling at the feet of the knight. Just a mere annoyance, rather than a threat.

    “Come, let's get you settled down.” The old crone sat Alex down at the table and moved over to the sink. She filled up a pitcher of water and brought it to the table. “Drink. I hope you don't mind if I get a little more comfortable.”

    At the clanky shake of the knights head, the brilliant cloak floated off the old woman, revealing a floating head and hands.

    “Now, I hear you're searching for the black knight's castle?” At this the knight's head started to violently shake. “Ahhh, well, the castle is a short ride to the top of that mountain,” the head stated, using one of her gnarled hands to point towards a mountain looming in the distance.

    The knight looked at the far off mountain, and looked down, noticing a lack of horse, and then looked at the old face. A kind and thoughtful face who seemed to  know exactly what Alex was thinking.

    “Don't worry about getting there. Shakiah is willing to take you.” Shakiah, the little pup looked up and started growling. “She's more than happy to take you there.”

    The knight stared dubiously at the tiny puffball of anger, wondering how she could possibly help. _Maybe the old woman is senile_. While Alex was lost in thought, the pup darted out the door, making the rested knight follow after her. Once they made it out the door, Shakiah started shaking her fur, growing in size, until the once harmless pup had turned into a ginormous black dog, with a size rivaling that of a bear.

    “Shakiah will accompany you until you have safely returned with your princess,” the old woman floated at the doorway. “Good luck on your journey.”

    With that, the strange duo took off in the direction of the dark knight's castle. The journey was far more easy with the aid of a monstrous bear sized dog. Vile creatures scattered, fleeing their path, all in fear of the jaws that threatened to swallow them up.

    As they approached the base of the mountain after the full day's journey, they could see a garden patch, full of gleaming pumpkins in the moonlight, ripe for the picking. Alex slowed Shakiah down, sensing that they would need to eat before climbing the treacherous and narrow path to the top. As soon as Shakiah had shifted down to her smaller form, the pumpkins vines shot out from the ground, wrapping themselves into thick bundles, and lifting the now shriveled pumpkins up. They lunged towards the knight, grabbing the armour and sending the vines in through the cracks, wrapping around Alex's chest and appendages, immobilizing the knight, and cutting off air supply.

    _This is the end!_ The voices in Alex's head shout. Parents, siblings, mentors. All destined to mourn Alex's untimely death. _I'm sorry I let the princess down._ And then Alex let the overwhelming darkness become the new reality.

    When Alex next awoke, it was light outside. Birds were chirping. A man was screaming in the courtyard, along with the thwacks that came from two objects colliding. Which would not have been that unusual save it were Alex was a questing knight.

    Scurrying out of the mysterious bed, Alex raced down the flights of stair into the courtyard, where a man dressed in a fancy black tunic was practicing his swordsmanship. He turned towards Alex, a smirk on his face.

    “Ah… I see that you have awaken! Come, young knight, and let us duel for the princess.” His voice was filled with a bravado that Alex did not completely feel. “Oh ho! We forgot your sword, didn't we? Here, catch!” And with that, the black knight tossed the sword in his hand to Alex and drew another sword with his other.

    “Quiet little bugger, aren't you?” The two knights ran at each other, swords clashing, muscles straining, trying to get a solid blow in. They fought until the sun reached its peak: clashing, clanging, and creaking replacing all other sound as the knights viciously fought for their prize. Each one giving all that they had, Not to be outdone by the other.

    Just as it seemed as if the fight would continue on until long past the end of humankind, the Princess Selena walked by on her lunchtime stroll around the gardens just barely able to be seen from where they were. Her hair shone as if it was made out of spun gold and she had a small sweet smile that graced her lips. Quite a distraction for the two knights, though Alex took this opportunity to stab the distracted black knight, sword slicing through the dark knight's side and pride, making him fall to his knees. Drawing the sword out from his side with a sickening squelch, Alex raised the sword and swung it down towards the knights head, only quickly changed direction so it gently rested beside the dark knight's neck.

    “You may have the princess,” the fallen knight's voice croaked out, and with that, the servants rushed out to get him inside. Alex turned to the stunned princess and held out a hand for her to take.

    “You didn't kill him, why?” She questioned with a curious glint in her eye. “I mean, thank you. He wasn't such a bad host.”

    All of a sudden, her eyes started to widen and she screamed. Fearing a monster had snuck into the castle, Alex turned, sword drawn, and was met with… a face full of dog slobber. Shakiah, in huge form licked her lost knight's face. It was quite a joyous reuniting for them two.

    Scooping the princess up, Alex swung onto the not so annoying and not so little dog, and they were off. Bounding off towards the land of Python. Their trip was an easy one, and they soon made it in no time. As soon as they set foot in the kingdom, they were flocked with numerous amounts of joyful citizens who were all overwhelmingly grateful to have their princess back.

    The king greeted the two loudly and jovially.

    “Brave paladin, O brave Alex. You have accomplished that which many have tried, but only you have come off conqueror. And for this, I give you my daughter's hand in marriage. For no other man is worthy of it.”

    The crowds of citizens cheered. They were delighted that the king had found a suitable match. But then Alex spoke.

    “Well actually, my lord, I, am no man.” and Alex took off her helmet, letting her auburn curls fall over her shoulder, “Nice to meet you, I'm Alex. Short for Alex _andra_. But I'll take one princess to go, if that's alright?”

    Gasps and whispers filled the otherwise silent air. Alexandra was worrying how the princess and king would react. But it was broken when the king let out a booming laugh.

    “Well, then I know you will know how to treat my daughter right.”

    The princess smiled and jumped into Alexandra’s strong arms, and the two swung onto the back of Shakiah, riding off into the distance, a rainbow stretching across the sky.

    And I think you know the rest of the story.

THE END


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